


Serpent Of The Curse

by RunePhoenix6769



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: F/F, FUCKINBEES DND CAMPAIGN, Order of the Sun Soul
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2020-10-19 22:56:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20665187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunePhoenix6769/pseuds/RunePhoenix6769
Summary: In the Empire of Ostead, ones military accomplishments denote where you stand in the often tenuous and ever shifting hierarchy, and the noble House of Yin Li, from a long line of revered fire genasi, are no exception.From a young age, Yaseke has been thrust into the spotlight of the ever growing war machine, with pressurised demands to bring honour and glory to the family name in the wake of past failures of her ancestors and shame of her sibling.And Yaseke has no doubt that she can and will deliver.That is until a series of events brings her to question the very roots of her upbringing and the core beliefs of her great nation.Beyond the mountains, in the North, the skies are growing dark and in it's breast the serpent moves.





	1. CARNAGE OF STONE

BOOOM!

BOOOM!

BOOOM!

The drums of war sounded as the airships began to approach their destination. An enemy stronghold deep within its territory. Set high up on a cliff side access was impossible on foot, yet the Empire would not allow the difficult terrain be a deterrent to their goals.

They were to capture the mine and its ferris port, incapacitate any opposition and take out the enemy garrison. 

The mines strategic position was imperative to the Empire's plans. Control of the area meant control of supply lines and would severely cripple the enemies weapons making capability.

BOOM!  
BOOM!  
BOOM! 

A loud whistle peeled through the airship, Azula Yin Li , Regiment Captain of the famous Blood Raven's, checked the straps and fittings of her armour as she glanced at a map of the area laid out on a table, weighted down at the edges by garish war dogs carved in brass to stop it rolling back in on itself.

Little flags and miniature figurines lay seemingly at random to the untrained eye, but to Azula they were all pointers to a carefully laid out plan.

Committing the lines that cross crossed, broke and curved on the topographic map to memory, she tightened her exquisitely crafted bracers on her forearms, a gift from her Father at her promotion. Rimmed in gold, the black forearm protectors were made by the finest armourer and engraved with an intricate Blood Raven by the finest artisans, they barely showed any of the scuffs from previous battles. 

In the highly polished surface of the edges she caught her reflection. Two tawny brown eyes so light they were almost yellow, beneath two perfectly manicured black eyebrows, looked back. She had often been described as beautiful, her mother's looks and her father's severe stare, but she thought her cheeks too youthful. 

Her long dark russet hair, so dark it was nearly black until the light hit it in the right way then it would shimmer as if made from the very flames of Hades itself. Pulling it back, so not a hair was out of place, she knotted it on top of her head, taking satisfaction of how the tightness pulled up her temples and added a maturity to her features she did not just yet possess. 

Her youthful looks often led fools in the chain of command to underestimate her. 

Often at their own peril. 

Even at the tender age of 19, she had accomplished much, was battle hardened, respected by most yet feared by many more. She was rising through the ranks at an alarming rate and her contacts had assured her that a promotion and new posting was in the cards, especially if the capture of the garrison at Castadier was a success. 

And she was confident that it would be. 

Honour and Glory to the Empire. 

Honour and Glory to the Yin Li family name. 

Father would most certainly be proud. 

A bell began to shrilly ring beside copper tubing that disappeared up into other pipes and curved metal that made up the interior structure of the airship. Pulling the loop of cloth over her middle fingers in order to help secure the braces in place, she reached for two tongs placing one in her ear whilst pulling the receiver out on a twisted copper cord. 

"Yes?"

The voice that came down the tubing was clipped, 

"Captain, ETA in 20!"

"Understood. Send out the call, Shipman!"

"The Major is on route!"

"Understood."

Replacing the receiver, she retrieved two small daggers, one from her Uncle, a famous General in his own right and one from her brother. The second gave her pause for thought as she inspected the sharpness of the blade with the pad of her thumb. Members of the Yin Li clan were not encouraged to dwell on those seen as a failure to their great and noble house. 

It had been three years since she had seen him last, sent on some mission of folly from which no one expected his return, and she had been thrust into his position.

Her Father's words, 

_"Prove yourself and do not bring dishonour to the name Yin Li."_

Carefully, she secreted the dagger from her brother into a specially designed snug in her highly polished soft black leather boot and her Uncle's into a knife holster that wrapped around her thigh. Another weapon that looked like an ordinary hairpin slid into her top knot and a few more black throwing daggers hidden throughout her outfit, she was ready. 

Though a member of the revered fire genasi race from a long line of proud and acclaimed fire genasi, it paid to be cautious and prepared for any eventuality. 

One never knew when a skilled spell caster might suddenly appear.

With one last look around her quarters, her gaze landed on a sepia tinted daguerreotype of her, her mother, father brother, uncle, aunt and cousin standing with his chest puffed out in his shiny new uniform, hand proudly on the pommel of his ceremonial sword.

Her cousin had just been assigned his regiment and his parents had been so proud. 

A few months later, news arrived that Lu-Ten's regiment had been wiped out. He had by all accounts fought valiantly, yet fell in battle. 

His ceremonial sword had been returned, dinged, yet bound with a ribbon of Galish, the highest honour the Empire could bestow upon a fallen Hero, along with a blood gold Emperor's Seal in a cherrywood box.

Both now sat pride of place beneath his portrait in the receiving parlour. 

His parents had been offered more land to add to their estate and permission to put a monument in their landscaped garden. Her Aunt had never been the same and her Uncle had requested to be transferred leaving the door wide open for her father to take up his posting and one step closer to the throne. 

Overcome with a peculiar bout of nostalgia and unfamiliar pre-battle jitters, she grabbed it, slipping it into a wax proffed med pouch that rested at her hip. 

BOOM! BOOM!BOOM! 

The drumbeats picked up speed, signifying their imminent arrival. 

Throwing a half assed prayer to any War god that might be listening, not that she believed but it was expected, she turned the large falkirk wheel locking mechanism until it spun freely, tugged at the heavy door before stepping out into the passageway and closing it firmly behind her. 

Satisfied it was secure, she took off in the direction of the back of the ship in long confident and determined strides, ignoring how younger or inexperienced recruits made up of lesser races darted past in the frenzy to get to their required positions. Snapping off sharp salutes, backs erect up against the walls allowing her to pass unfettered, as a sign of respect. 

She nodded in acknowledgement, but barked,

"As you were! We do not have time for courtesies! Get to your stations!" 

The command caused them to scurry off down the airships passageways or disappear down metal ladders dotted here and there.

Far more experienced soldiers simply nodded as she passed and continued on their way.

She pushed open the heavy door that led down into the wide hold at the prow of the ship where the soldiers had gathered, prepped and ready for the forthcoming attack. 

The Major, an older man who looked to maybe be in his 50's, his rust coloured beard spread out into three sharp points topped by luxurious moustache, well oiled and combed but giving way to grey, strolled back and forth in front of the gathering. His uniform looked like as if it would need to be taken out at the waistline at some point in the future only made more apparent with how he held is hands behind his back as he walked.

When Azula had been assigned to this particular operation she had taken pains to glean all she could about her superior officer. 

He had risen to Captain in his mid 30's and then Major sometime after. He had seemed happy to remain at that rank, one where he could reap the benefits the uniform bestowed and go out into the field when it was expected, which would allow him to retire with a position as a mid level bureaucrat or at best, a governor of some far off piss poor province.

From what she could gather he had masterfully avoided most ground conflicts but had proved quite adept at navigating mountainous terrain and aerial assaults. His battle record showed that he had no truck with flares for the dramatic but rather, simple and steadfast which had proved to be successful. 

If all went well, it would be his position she would be filling, once he took retirement after this mission.

Catching the tail end of his obligatory but rather lacklustre speech that was supposed to inspire and ignite the fire in the warrior's belly, she tried to hide an eyeroll.

A mixture of gnolls, bugbears and goliaths, not the smartest of creatures but they followed orders, mostly. Their sheer size, brawn and thick skin made them perfect for the work at hand. There were also half Orcs, in a range of shades of green and greys, Dragonborn and Minotaurs who doubled up as good melee fighters with stamina. And the odd human and half elf for when dealing with narrower passageways, rooms and ferreting out the enemy and needing someone quick on the uptake

Her own beloved Blood Ravens, made up of fellow fire genasi were on the open galleys that lined the ship, setting flame to bitchumen soaked boulders which when flung from catapults would be the bulk of their aerial assault. The way the ship was jarring and the far off cracks that had now grown louder drowning out the war drums completely, the softening up of the enemies garrison had already begun in an relentless barrage. 

Lifting a large war horn to its lips, a Minotaur took a huge breath before releasing the air out of its lungs and breathed into it. A deafening noise the call to arms as the prow dropped open, drowning out the tail end of something the Major yelled about survivors.

Wave after wave of monstrously large creatures surged forward in a cacophony of yips, bellows and yells coupled with the clanking of armourand thunderous footfalls. 

A terrifying battle cry not even the bravest of souls could be expected to stand steady once heard.

Positioning herself behind a rather skilled Minotaur, its brawny muscles rippling beneath it's skin as it swung a two handed broadsword and an armourless goliath, Azula attempted to get a lay of the battlefield. 

Smoke from the bitchumen soaked boulders made it difficult to see. Beside her a human took an arrow to the throat, its eyes growing wide as a spray of crimson erupted from its shocked mouth as it fell. 

Azula called upon her racial gifts, shooting a fireball in the general direction of the assault. 

Goliaths, Orcs alike crashed through flimsy looking structures, splintering underneath the garish clubs.

Terrified screams broke out. Through the acrid smoke she thought she spied a gnome running for its life. 

Overhead, the rocks from the airships continued to batter the cliffside, causing huge shards to pelt down on the people below. She barely missed being hit by a boulder, diving out of the way into a roll using her small size and agility to her advantage, the sole of her boots skidding on the gritty surface.

The clanging of metal upon metal, hammer and sword upon shield rang out. To her right a stone giant had a gnoll by its legs dashing its head over and over on the ground. 

_Something wasn't right?_

The screams were too shrill, too panicked. 

_Where were the enemy soldiers?_

The same peculiar feeling she felt back on the airship began to creep up the back of her neck.

A garbled war cry came from her left. 

She spun round to see a scrawny boy running at her with a pike. In a flurry of kicks, she broke through the flimsy weapon and as she came round with a fire fist the boy's head exploded as a heavy club cleaved it clean off his shoulders, leaving behind nothing but a crimson spewing crater. His body twitched for a few seconds, white knuckles as hands still clung to what was left of the pike, before his knees crumpled and his body fell prone.

Pulling her punch at the last second so as not to hit a comrade, she yelled over the noise, 

"The garrison?"

The goliath snorted in reply before lumbering off in the other direction. Another shower of shale rained from above, Azula spied an overhang of sorts, obscured by barrels and a cart. 

Arrows dogged her every move, zigzagging this way and that, shooting off columns of fire from her fingers and hands in the general direction from where they came. Some of her shots were replied with blood curdling screams.

Darting towards the small alcove, she tackle dived sending up sparks from her metal greaves as they scrapped over the hard stone underneath before slamming into the rock face with such force she was sure she felt something in her shoulder crack.

Ignoring the shooting pain in her arm, she shifted on back to get further behind the flimsy protective barrier made of wicker and thatch, feeling people behind her. Casting a glance over her shoulder, she barked a command, 

"We regroup and move in unison into the mountain's entrance!"

Quickly, she peered over the top of the makeshift barrier as a loud whine, the sound of metal bending under intense strain, hit her ears. 

One of the airships had been punctured in its hull by what looked like to be a siege bolt. A chain as thick as a bugbear was wide was attached at the end and it sounded as if it was being tightened by a winch from deep inside the mountain. The ship began to list as it was pulled closer to the mountain side, spilling hot tar from its armaments pouring down on the soldiers, comrades and enemies alike. 

Screams of anguish and horror as their flesh melted becoming one with the viscous liquid. A gnoll with its hair aflame took a flying leap off the cliff side. An orc, tar bubbling down its face and shoulders began to swing wildly with its club as it let out a loud roar. 

And yet in all the chaos she could not spot a single enemy uniform, instead she began to see frail old men who had seen too many winters and boys who had not seen enough making feeble attempts at defense.

Women and children of all races fleeing in terror, some falling prone as their backs were littered with arrows as they fled.

A handful of dwarfs remained in a semblance of formation, axes cleaving into the knees and heads of those who crossed them. 

An arrow whizzed past her head, nicking her ear just as she ducked back down.

Up above the chain continued to drag the airship closer, its metal hull screaming in protest as it collided with the prow of another airship and scraped along the mountainside, twisting and buckling with the force of impact. 

Over the noise she yelled at the soldiers behind her, 

"We need to get up there! On my count!"

Behind her there came no reply.

_This was not the time for insubordination._ With a snarl, she whipped round, 

"I said on my ....."

The words died on her lips. 

Cowering in the corner, arms outstretched in a bid to protect them, a dwarvish woman shepherded her three children behind her. Her wide blown eyes, brimming with tears of terror, darted from Azula's burning hand back to the soldier's face. Her own and that of her children covered in grime made up of smoke and stone dust save for where trails of tears had washed it clean in tracks that were stark pale in comparison.

The fire genasi bellowed,

"Where are the soldiers?" 

Incoherent babbling was the reply. 

In frustration, she repeated the question. 

From somewhere the small dwarvish mother found a nugget of bravery that even in this chaos, Azula had to admire, 

"There aren't any!"

Grabbing the small woman by the front of her garments, she snarled, 

"You lie!"

One of the children took an ineffectual swipe, 

"LEAVE HER ALONE!"

With the sole of her boot she harshly shoved the small dwarvish boy back into the dirt.

The mother continued, her voice reedy and shaky, pleading, 

"Please! Please don't hurt him!... I swear.... We are just a mining town, no soldiers, just miners and craftsmen!"

With an iron grip on the dwarf, Azula peered back over the makeshift barrier, 

"This is Castadier? "

Inches off the ground the woman attempted to nod. Behind her a tiny girl with bouncing blonde ringlets let out a wail. 

"It is!" The dwarvish woman replied in desperation, "-But we just mine gems and soft metals..... We make brooches and ..."

"Not weapons??"

"No... Please.. please let us go!"

Azula's fingers loosened their iron grip and the terrified mother rushed to help up her son and continue to shield her daughters.

Underfoot the ground began to shake and a deep rumble began to echo. The punctured airship was aflame and Azula watched in horror as it caught the other ship on fire. It crashed into the mountainside sending out high velocity shrapnel on impact. A twisted piece of metal sliced a bugbear clean through the midriff, its legs continuing for a few moments as its top slid sideways. Other pieces imbedding in friend and foe alike. 

Even from her vantage point she could see flailing figures attempt to jump from piece to piece, trying to make a break for the solid ground as the ship beneath their feet began to disintegrate. Succumbing to the flames, the second ship began to sink down the mountainside.

Overhead the rock face began to crack and fissure as the pressure of the winch hidden within its deeps was no doubt pulled from its anchors, only to closely follow the floundering airship.

Bitchumen and tar, tipped from the now insecure barrels had spilled on the ferris port licking up thick black acrid plumes as it set alight. 

Another loud crack, a tiny smattering of pebbles was all the notice she received as the gargantuan slab of rock that made up the overhang shifted. 

It seemed to happen in slow motion as her survival instinct kicked in, jets of blue flame from her feet propelling her backwards as she yelled in warning at the dwarven women, 

"Get out of there!"

A creak, then a groan followed by a deafening roar as the edifice came away, sliding down and crashing into the ferris port. 

Azula caught a glimpse of three tiny faces caught forever in absolute terror, their mouths frozen in little 'O' as they were crushed under the sheer weight, disappearing in a hail of debris and dust. 

The left side of the ferris port gave way, crumbling into pieces. 

She was propelled back into the mouth of the mountainside by the sheer impact, knocking the wind out her lungs and the back of her head to snap back and collide with the rock face with a sickening crunch.

Thick dust, debris, soot and smoke made it impossible to see but a few inches, it caused her to cough as she inhaled and left her eyes watering as she was covered in a thick film of dust.

Gingerly, she reached up to feel the back of her head only for her fingers to come away red. 

Looming from the dark came a the recognisable shadow of Major Chen. She tried to call out but the noise came out as a gurgle. 

The Major came into view. 

"Ah, Captain Yin Li!" He announced, a small hand held crossbow in a casual grip, "-There you are!"

He seemed far too calm for a man whose head would be on a pike for this unmitigated disaster. 

"Sir, " She choked, struggling to sit up,"- Our intel was wrong." 

"What on earth gave you that foolish impression, Captain?"

She gestured with her good arm, 

"LOOK!"

Silhouettes of her comrades looming over smaller ones holding their hands up in a stay of execution as they were cut down where they stood. Frantic screams of women and children intermingled with the dirge of war.

Casting a cursory glance in the direction of her gesture, the Major shrugged, 

"All I see are insurgents, enemies of the Empire and a successful operation to eradicate them from a strategic stronghold!"

Drawing a leg underneath her, she tried to grip the wall in a bid to get to her feet, 

"Sir!....." She implored, "- This place has _no_ strategic value!"

"Not to you and your family, maybe, but to me, it is my future. My protectorate. My retirement post, if you will."

"This isn't a war, it's a slaughter! I'll see you hang for this, you honourless cur!"

Even over the noise of battle she heard the distinctive telltale click of a crossbow bolt being pulled back and she froze. Major Chen, crossbow raised, let out a deep sigh,

"Ah, yes, Honour.... Imagine my surprise when I was informed that a member of the famed Yin Li family was coming under my command. A fly in the ointment to be sure. I really was hoping that the pesky code your family live and die by wouldn't become a problem, but here we are!"

He aimed the tip of the crossbow bolt at her head,

"I sincerely hoped that it wouldn't come to this."

From her stomach came a laugh that bubbled up ending in a wheezing gurgle as she slid back down the wall, her head light from the thoughts that were chasing each other like direwolf pups. 

Of course, why hadn't she seen it in his battle records? Too many successes for such a mediocre soldier! This mission had been nothing more than a cash grab!

A miniscule lick of flame traveling with speed over the ground caught her eye. Crinkling her eyebrows in confusion, her eyes followed it briefly before returning to the Major who didn't seem to notice. 

She had never seen fire pop and fizz like that never mind follow a path. It moved like the tiny lizards she found in the gardens of her ancestral home, often pointed out by her tutors, Lo and Li, darting from under the safety of shade out into the open looking for a new places to hide. Using the heel of her boot she pushed herself back further against the rock face, concentrating on the tip of the bolt, her mind racing. 

_Could she get off a defensive volley of fire?_

Fighting grasping hands that attempted to pull her into slumber and barely able to connect one thought to another, she attempted to muster her flame into her good hand. 

_Where you going little salamander?_

Meandering at high speed, the fizzing salamander leapt up from the ground,

From behind the raised crossbow the Major grinned at her wolfishly, 

"I'll be sure to deliver the ribbon of Galish to your parents my...."

There came a miniscule flash, an inaudible pop and a brief moment of clarity on the Major's features wiping the smug smirk off his face as the huge stack of barrels ignited with a resounding BOOOOM!

Everything was blinding in the most beautiful array of colours as she was suddenly flung in a spin through the air. She registered a sharp pain as something pierced her thigh.

Then,

Darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

.  
.

BOINK.

BOINK.

Far off little whispers of excitement, fear and discovery.

"Do you think it's dead?"

Another rude but tentative poke hit her in the back. A voice, with a tone that it knew everything by virtue of being the eldest, 

"Yup. Nowt could survive the rapids."

Another reedy voice rose in chorus of opinion, 

"Not true, my Nana said that old Wallace came down there in a barrell!"

Disorientated, Azula tried to open her eyes. The voices of children coming through distorted. She had been asleep in her family home, what were the servants children doing in her private rooms? _Surely they knew consequences?_

The all knowing voice continued, 

"Everyone knows thats an old maids tale!"

"Naaa ah," It came out high pitched in indignation, "- She says he came straight oe'er the Shadsvalley."

The soldier felt the presence of someone creep closer

"Cor.... Lookit those," Another rude poke, "-Those bracers..."

The surface under her body was squishy and cold. Not the warmth of her large bed. 

A young and decidedly feminine voice whined, 

"Tomothy, stop! Im scared."

"Stop being such a chicken!" Another poke, "-Think they'll be worth somethin...? Thats craftsmanship that it!"

Azula tried to open her eyes and instantly regretted it as a number of things became apparent. Water lapped at her lower half, tendrils travelling through her muscles from all parts of her body in white flashes, some worse than others hit all at once.

The female voice whined again, 

"I'm telling Mamma, you're being mean."

Teeny footfalls, the snapping of twigs. 

"Here, you hold this," The older voice of authority replied. 

"But...But... Maybe we should get Dad?"

Tiny hands began to gingerly feel along the bracer on Azula's right arm, feeling for the buckles that kept it in place. She made as if to move, to grab the thief. Instead it came out as an agonised moan as her shoulder screamed in protest. There came a high pitched shriek of shock and terror followed by footfalls of a scurrying retreat. Forcing her body up with her good arm, she flopped onto her back, chest heaving from the exertion and the blinding pain. Gingerly, she attempted to open her eyes to find one swollen shut and the other blinking in the onslaught of bright spackled light breaking through the canopy of trees overhead.

Swaying gently in the breeze, the leaves rustled. Dancing in greens and reds and oranges, casting little bouts of shade, they seemed far more peaceful. She tried to flex her fingers, tried to wiggle her toes to be met with resistance with her left thigh and sharp pins and needles, letting out another soft moan. From far over she heard a bold and enquiring voice, 

"Oi.... Are you dead?"

_ She didn't know! Was she?_ If she was, then this was a cruel jape of the gods, tossing her to one side, bruised, battered and more than likely broken.

Attempting to sit up by getting her hands underneath, she collapsed back into the soft mud when her arm gave way, her shoulder refusing to cooperate. 

_ If this was a heaven of sorts, she was going to have words with whomever was in charge. _

Cradling her injured arm over her torso, she mustered her resolve, before struggling to heave her body into the up right sitting position. Fighting a wave of nausea at the the sudden movement, she slumped forward, only held upright by the mass of her torso. Hair fell in front of her face and from under her brow her good eye spied the glitter of the sunlight twinkling off the surface off the wide, lazily flowing river. Up to the right in the far distance loomed the mountains. Flashes of memory returned. The blood, the smoke, the slaughter. The dwarvish woman and her children. Major Chen's gloating face. 

Aware she was being watched, she balled up her fist biting down on it, muffling her scream of anguish.

Again, a cheeky and altogether too chipper inquiry, 

"So you're not a goblin or the undead?"

Turning towards the source of the voice, she was surprised to find two faces framed by mussy and unruly hair peeking from behind a nearby tree trunk. At eye contact, the two ducked behind the tree and Azula could hear a hot whispered debate, before the two halfling children once again peered from behind the tree, 

"We decided your not a goblin, or an undead." The heads bobbed back, another whispered debate, and a call out, "- Are you an elf?"

Yaseke snarled, 

"Do you have a death wish?"

Unexpected excited babbling was her reply,

"Are you magic? Can you grant wishes? How many wishes? Is there a catch. My Mum says there's always a catch!"

As the two halfling children continued to ramble on, Azula attempted to calculate how far she had travelled. Nothing about the craggy peaks in the distance looked familiar. Had she come out the otherside after her fall, carried on the river? 

_Was she an enemy soldier in foreign territory?_

Her dagger holster looked worse for wear but still full and she could feel the cold metal in her boot of her Uncle's gift.

The brazen halfling children didnt seem to fear her, or the insignia of her bracers.

_Maybe the Ostedean army was unheard of here?_

If her hazy recollection of the military map was to be trusted, and if she was to hazard a guess at the distance she had somehow survived travelling, she could either be in Torconia or Donoria, not that she would be able to tell either of them apart by flora or fauna alone.

Her left leg began to throb accompanied by a warm stickiness.. Cautiously, she began to inspect her thigh through tattered material, her fingers catching on the sharp edge of a foreign object deeply embedded in hard muscle. Pulling at the edges of the wound to get a better look, another wave of nausea as dark maroon bloobed out, dribbling down her leg and pooling in the mud. 

Tongue, thick and flaccid with cotton mouth and an overwhelming thirst, she managed to croak, 

"Water?"

Tugging at the belt around her waist she was relieved to find the wax proofed med pouch still attached, if only by a thread. Clumsily, she managed to untie the string before tipping the contents into her lap. From amongst the items she fished out a piece of bark from tree that had medicinal properties to combat mountain sickness and she hoped that it might also settle her already roiling stomach. Gripping it between her teeth, she began to suck on it, doing her best not to cringe at the bitter tasting root. She had needle and thread, a small pair of grippers, soft clean strip material and a smaller pouch of herbs and branmash that could be made into a poultice, which was mainly used to draw out infection. Holding up the grippers, she was dismayed to find that they wouldn't open wide enough to grasp whatever was buried in her thigh. The poultice would be practically useless in this instance, if left in, the object would fester and she would either lose the limb, eventually succumb to the sweating disease or even worse, the Laughing Death. She was shocked to find the duggerotype had somehow managed to remain intact, water just seeping in at the edges. With her index finger, she traced the faces of her family.

A cheeky voice, dangerously close, inquired, 

"Wots that?"

Azula snatched the picture close to her chest hiding it from prying eyes, 

"None of your business!"

The boy sniffed with a pompous air, 

"Well, that's no way to speak to someone who you want something from!"

_What could she possibly want from this snivelling little river rat?_

The older boy held out a water skin in his freakishly small pudgy hands, and the Ostead captain tried not to stare as his hideous, oversized bare feet. 

Being from the upper rings, she hadn't met many halflings, said to much prefer the outdoors and hard to keep disciplined as house servants, they were usually kept to work the fields as per the characteristics of their race and therefore their station. The odd one might be used as a scribe and create the most detailed scrolls with exquisite calligraphy, but they were very rare indeed, their hands made for scrabbling in the dirt, not the delicacy of a quill. Unlike their mountain dwelling brethren, Dwarves, they were seen in the Empire as practically useless.

Smacking her lips together at the sloshing of the liquid in the skin, she observed how the boy brazenly approached and crouched down, with knees up round his ears, he reminded Azula of a Duwallian frog. Absently he handed her the skin, far more fascinated in the weeping wound in her thigh. His jaw became slack and eyes wide with awe, 

"That looks right nasty, so it does....Wait a sec... There's something in there!.." He went to poke it only to have Azula make a feeble attempt as a scowl, which was hard with a swollen shut eye. At least he had the withforall to stop, finger hovering in mid air, before he pulled back and gave her a curious look, "- Did you get shot?"

"Something like that."

Using her teeth, the soldier pulled out the cork, spitting it to one side, upending the skin and guzzled the almost sweet tasting water until it was empty. She gave it a frustrated shake, tongue poking out to catch the last droplet. And yet her thirst persisted.

"Gimme that.... I'll get some more."

With a jaunty step he took off to the river's edge and she observed how he nimbly leapt from rock to rock that occasionally broke the surface. He spun about, peering down at the water as if on some great quest of discovery. Seemingly satisfied, he crouched down, shaking his mussy hair as he turned his face up to the sunlight.

From the right came the ever so slight sound of twigs snapping as an almost carbon copy of the halfling boy cautiously approached. His hair was a shade lighter and his stature on the small side but no doubt to be left as to their relationship. He lacked his brother's carefree attitude, chewing on the nail of his thumb, eyebrows knit up in a frown that was far too serious for a child of such tender age. 

And Azula could relate, hard.  
.  
His shirt was loose, a bit on the big side, no doubt a hand me down, and his brown trousers cut off just above scabby knees. If his brother's feet were large, then this boy's was oversized and she wondered if he would grow into them. Continuing to chew on his thumb, he mumbled something unintelligible. So garbled and cumbersome, the soldier was left to wonder if he was speaking in an entirely different language.

"Take your fingers out your mouth!" drifted from the rivers edge.

Azula stifled a cringe as he removed his saliva covered thumb, nail worried down to the quick.

"Mum said we're not to talk to strangers."

Standing up, the older brother began to pick his way back to the pair,

"I'm Tomothy," lightly hopped to a rock, "-That's Robyn," hopped to another, "- And you?"

_Deep in enemy territory, she could hardly give her real name?_

Mind running a mile a minute, she glanced at the river, the rocks the trees.

She needed something that was easy to remember. Something she would instinctively reply to if the enemy tried to trick her. A name she could easily move under on her journey back to the Empire.

"LeafsGreen Freebush"

Tomothy let out a hearty belly laugh, as he left huge footprints in the mud, 

"That's a fib, that is...... No one has a name like that, not even a genie." 

Her gaze landed on the picture in her hand. 

"You're right... I was trying to catch you out. .... Yasake... My name is Yasake. "  
Beside her, Robyn began to silently mouth the alien word, as his brother cocked his head, curiously, 

"Yasake...?.. Wot sort of a name is that?"  
.  
Taking the waterrskin from him, she countered, 

"A name from beyond the mountains."

Robyn spoke, barely but a whisper, 

"Dad says only monsters live up in the mountains."

Taking a slug of cool water from the skin, she swallowed, staring off over the lazily flowing river, casting her gaze to the craggy peaks that dominated the Northern skyline, casting their long shadows, like gnarled fingers searching, and shielding their misdeeds. Quickly, she took another drink before replying matter a factly, 

"Your Father would be correct in that summation."

Again the little halfing boy attempted to sound out the word, 

"Summ.... sumummaa, summination."

Tomothy skipped over the pronunciation, cutting straight to the chase, 

"Wot does that mean?"

"It means that, your Father is right and you should listen to him."

Suddenly there came a clonking of a bell, and the two boys looked up. Robyn immediately clambering to his feet and taking off in the direction of the sound.

Azula offered back the waterskin to the older brother who was busy brushing the dirt off his breeches. He cocked his head to one side, causing his curls to bounce, as he squinted against the dappled light. Instead of taking back the skin he began to stroll away, meandering as if he had all the time in the world.

The soldier regarded him thoughtfully.

_A peculiar child to be sure._

Before returning to stare back out over the river and give thought as to how on earth she might begin the arduous journey back to the Empire.

The snapping of twigs roused her and she was surprised to find the halfling boy holding out a rather robust stick,

"Are you comin, or you gonna sit here? Its dinner time an if we aint half quick Robyn will have guzzled everythin."

He held out a rather pudgy hand and Azula was almost loath to take it. Miniscule yet thick fingers with knobbly knuckles. She attempted to ignore it as she tried to get her good leg underneath her only to find she did not have the necessary fulcrum to lift herself. Digging the makeshift crutch into the soft earth, she made a second attempt, this time managing to get her good leg a little underneath her. Gritting her teeth she endeavored to ignore the white hot stabs travelling down her right hand side, before collapsing back into the dirt.

Tomothy continued to hold out his hand.

Reluctantly, she clasped it tightly and was taken aback by how much strength he had as he pulled her to her feet before nimbly getting under her good arm and pushing her the rest of the way, clumsy hands at her waist, supporting her until she was able to get the righten herself.

Hit by a sudden wave of light headedness, she almost collapsed back but he held her steady.

"Thankyou." She softly murmured.

The word alien to her but meant with all sincerity.

He grinned,

"Think nothing of it... Now come on hop along."

She threw him a dark scowl at the impromptu and entirely uncalled for nickname. 

He continued to skip, light of foot over the gentle incline, scurrying ahead only to stop every few moments to make sure she was following. 

Gritting her teeth, Azula limped on, leaning heavily on the makeshift crutch, each breath laboured.

Away from the river's edge the terrain gave way to soft grass full of colourful and delicate flowers she could not name and littered with nuts from the trees overhead and full of bird's song. She would almost call it beautiful if not for her predicament. Smells that remained unrecognisable yet not wholly unpleasant wafted up from the disturbed foliage as they continued to on their way. Every now and again, the young boy would point out a plant or pick up a leaf, babbling excitedly about it's properties.

Tomothy darted back, a small pile of droppings in his hands. Poking them with his grubby fingernail, he parted, 

"Bush martens!... They make great pets if you can catch one as a baby.... Sometimes they fall from the nest and once they do their mother won't take them back!"

_Something we have in common,_ Azula thought peevishly. 

A light gust of wind rustled the leaves up in the canopy. A whiff of something, fetid that the soldier instantly recognised and caused the birds to cease their chorus. The fire genasi stiffend, eyes scanning the dense forest as Tomothy continued, 

"Maybe I'll get lucky and fin.."

"Shush!" She hissed, her hand reaching for his shoulder, pulling him close. "- Don't move!"

Picking up on the no nonsense tone to her voice, he immediately obeyed. There was an absence of noise, as if the very forest itself was holding it's collective breath, even the branches didn't creak. A muffled grunt from the left hand side. 

_Surely there couldn't be one here? Not this far South!_

"Stay close to me an do as exactly as I say." She murmured out of the side of her mouth,"- Understood?"

Wide eyed and pale faced, the halfling child nodded, clinging to her side. Cautiously and with great care where she placed her feet, she crept closer to the sound, motioning for the boy to tread where she stepped, grateful that they were downwind. Coming up against a wide tree, she drew the halfing child behind her before peering round the gnarly bark.

Another waft of air, musty with the tell tale stench of burnt hair and skin caused Azula's nose to wrinkle in disgust. Smaller movement caught her attention and she was dismayed to find a small dwarvish girl picking flowers in the tiny glade, seemingly wrapped up in a world of her own.

On the other side of the glade, a darker hulking shadow that was attempting to conceal itself. She felt a hand tug on her tunic drawing her attention. Panic stricken, Tomothy tried to stand on his tippy toes, 

"That's my cousin!"

Very slowly, Azula unclasped the sheath at her thigh and she thanked small mercies that she hadn't lost it in the fall as she withdrew the blade. 

There came a loud snap of a branch breaking. Drawn out of her musings, the dwarvish girl froze. Curiously she looked around, calling out, 

"Is anyone there?"

The noise caused the creature to burst out of the undergrowth. A midsized gnoll with familiar coloured strips of cloth at its waist. 

Letting out a piercing shriek, the little girl tried to bolt, tripping over her feet in her haste. Crawling on hands and knees, she scrambled over the forest floor, wriggling in between the roots of a nearby upturned tree, the gnoll snapping and snarling, eating up the ground between them.

"Run!" Azula yelled over her shoulder as she hobbled the best she could from behind the protection of the tree and out into the glade. Keeping her unsheathed blade behind her back and out of sight, she drew a huge lung full of air, feeling familiar warmth and a burning rage. "'- Oi!"

Snarling, lips drawn back to reveal sharp teeth, it turned towards her, a guttural growl escaping it's throat. It looked like Azula felt, patches of its skin burnt black in places, a mangled eye and a ear half hanging. 

A fellow soldier, no doubt suffering the same fate as her.  
.  
Edging closer, shedid her best to hide her own injuries, straightening her back and taking on a authoritative tone in fluent Ostedean, 

"Name and regiment?"

It remained on all fours as if feral. 

Slowly, she maneuvered between the upturned roots under which cowered the girl and the slobbering creature, who snuffed. She forcefully repeated,

"I said.... Name and Regiment, soldier!"

It's yellow eye swiveling in it's head, it let out a growl as it charged..  
.  
A terrified shriek escaped the dwarvish girl as the demented creature bore down on them both, sharp teeth glistening with slobber, black lips pulled back in a vicious snarl. Azula attempted to ready her stance but her injured leg responded sluggishly. Barely able to take her weight, it buckled as the gnoll collided with her, knocking them both to the forest floor.

It's teeth gnashing inches from her face, its fetid breath almost over powering as they tussled. One hand trying to hold her once over comrade at bay whilst her shoulder popped and she struggled to breath, ribs grating. It clawed at her. Each swipe dangerously close to her face, but its swings were wild, uncoordinated. The smell of burnt skin intermingled with stale sweat strong on her nostrils, they tousled rolling in the dirt and mud, hands grasping at torn remnants of uniforms, at limbs, anything for the advantage or to stave off the assault. Gritting her teeth, she let out a grunt under the strain, forcing herself to ignore her battered and broken body screaming in protest.

Forcibly, she concentrated all the heat into her hand at it's throat until it glowed a dull red, only fraction of what she could usually muster but just enough as the creature let out a shriek, it's already brutalised skin smoldering. It attempted to pull away, granting Azula precious inches. She thrust upwards with her blade, miniscule resistance before the tip sank into flesh up to the hilt and hot liquid spilled over her hand, making the grip of the blade slippy. 

Her vision clouded red. 

_Major Chen, the bureaucrats back in the Capital knowingly sending her and her comrades to unwittingly commit a slaughter, maybe even to their deaths. And for what? Honour and Glory for the Empire be damned._

Frenzied, she screamed, over powering the Gnoll on its back, stabbing over and over, blood thundering in her ears, like the rapids that had brought her here.

Loud, hitching sobs filtered through. Wild eyed, she snarled searching for the source only to land upon the ashen face of the small dwarvish girl from amongst the dark tree roots. Thumping of her heart began subside, her lungs burning from exertion, she tried to steady her breathing as she sat astride the broken body of the Gnoll, its good eye unseeing, bright red froth bubbling at the corners of its mouth, letting out a final gurgle. 

Crimson splattered the front of her uniform, and blood oozed from the wounds in the creature's torso, spilling onto the green and once over idyllic forest floor. Shifting back, she dropped the sticky blade. Through gulps of air, she managed,

"It's alright... You can come out now."

She went to reach out a hand in encouragement but the child shrank back further, eyes wide and bottom lip trembling. 

_Ungrateful, little shit!_

Adrenalin giving way to fatigue, creeping up through her muscles and injuries making themselves known, the soldier stiffly manoeuvred off the dead Gnoll, collecting the dagger and trying to clean off the dripping blade with some leaves. She went to sheath it but paused as male voice from behind her, demanded, 

"Drop it! and hands up!" There was a decided edge to the command. She hesitated, "- Do it, now! Or I'll shoot you where you stand!" Raising her hands, she dropped the blade. The voice continued, "- Move away from it.... Go on, get! The soldier side stepped to one side creating a small distance. "- Celes..." The man called out, frantically, the threatening tone changing to one of parental concern "Are you ok?... Its ok.." 

"Daddy?" Crawling on her hands and knees the young dwarvish girl peered out from the safety of her burrow. Upon seeing her father, the child burst from the undergrowth, giving the soldier a wide berth, "Daddy.. Daddy"

She bolted towards her father and out of view. 

Another wave of tiredness and nausea hit the soldier. She had no idea when she had last ate, when she had last slept. All around her was the metallic tang of blood, it was everywhere, in her hair, on her face and her hands caking as it dried on. Her leg felt on fire, her shoulder grated, her breath laboured as the muscles on her injured ribs seized and tightened. 

Light headed, the sun dappled glade swam. Like a newborn faun, legs wobbling and uncoordinated, Azula stumbled. Eyes drooping, she blinked. Everything taking on a light haze, coloured motes dancing. Licking her lips, she swayed, finally giving in, exhaustion wrapping its long tendrils around her, dragging her down beneath it's velvet swells.

**Author's Note:**

> .  
.  
.  
A transformative work, whereby some of the content will be dictated by what happens in the dnd campaign, and some made up of Azula/Yaseke's all ready thought out and planned backstory. 
> 
> This is a complete and utter experiment. 
> 
> You will see shades of inspiration of ATLAB peppered throughout by me and other stuff from whatever the DM comes up with and what happens in game. 
> 
> UPDATES WILL OCCUR AS DICTATED BY THE FREQUENCY OF THE CAMPAIGN.


End file.
